Saturday, September 10, 2016

Hammers on Bone (review)

FROM GOODREADS:John Persons is a
private investigator with a distasteful job from an unlikely client.
He’s been hired by a ten-year-old to kill the kid’s stepdad, McKinsey.
The man in question is abusive, abrasive, and abominable.

He’s
also a monster, which makes Persons the perfect thing to hunt him. Over
the course of his ancient, arcane existence, he’s hunted gods and
demons, and broken them in his teeth.

As Persons investigates the
horrible McKinsey, he realizes that he carries something far darker
than the expected social evils. He’s infected with an alien presence,
and he’s spreading that monstrosity far and wide. Luckily Persons is no
stranger to the occult, being an ancient and magical intelligence
himself. The question is whether the private dick can take down the
abusive stepdad without releasing the holds on his own horrifying
potential.

MY THOUGHTS: While
I enjoyed this book, I think I would have enjoyed it better had it been
a full length novel. All the time I was reading it I kept thinking I
had missed reading the first book and since there isn't one, I can only
believe I needed more information to make the story work for me.

John
Persons is a private investigator with a secret, he not only hunts
monsters, he is one himself. So in other word, John Persons really isn't
a person at all. One day he is approached by a young boy who wants him
to kill his stepfather who is infected with some evil presence and whom
the boy believes will eventually harm him and his brother more than he
already has. Persons is an interesting character and I hope there is
more in this series because I would like to learn more about him. The
end indicates there may be additional novellas coming so I must keep my
eyes peeled. I did enjoy the "monster" aspect of this book and along the
way, Persons meets some pretty interesting characters, some who I found
more interesting than him.

If you like fantasy, books with a
Lovecraft feel and detective novels with a twist, you should consider
giving this one a try. Since it's a novella, you really have nothing
much to lose. Also, I was super tempted to give this book 4/5 simply
because there are tentacles on the cover but I forced myself to be
objective - bummer.

Oh I'm terrible, I have all these Tor.com novellas I've been neglecting. This was one on my want-to-check-out list too, so thanks for your review (and the reminder). Sounds interesting, though I often leave novellas feeling like I wish they were longer too.

I believe I have a review copy of this but I'll probably read it next month. In my opinion, Lovecraft either works or it doesn't. I've read some I like and some I don't, so I'm not sure. Your three star rating may push me to let this one pass by.

I believe I have a review copy of this but I'll probably read it next month. In my opinion, Lovecraft either works or it doesn't. I've read some I like and some I don't, so I'm not sure. Your three star rating may push me to let this one pass by.